Plein air painting 98a

Painted during 15th May 2023 at Warsash, on the outskirts of Southampton, Hampshire. The River Hamble is on the left side with Hamble village, and the marina, in the far background. In the center of the painting is the Harbour Masters Office, a distinctive round building painted in black and white.
The plein air landscape art was done in oils on mounting board, sized at 12" x 9.5".

Plein air painting 118

On the 6th January 2024 the urban sketchers (facebook group) met at Ocean village, Southampton. It was a very cold Saturday morning, not helped by standing in the shade of a large building where I missed out on warmth from what little sun there was, and wanted to get it done as soon as possible. Painted in oils on mounting board, sized at 12 x 9.5"over a 1 ½ hours.

Plein air painting 98b

Following on from the previous painting, done during 15th May 2023 was this quick painting done a few mins walk from the last location. Here the mouth of the River Hamble can be seen as it intersects with Southampton Water, across which can be seen Fawley oil refinery. Two tanker ships with red hulls are docked alongside the complex.
Painted in oils on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5".

Plein air painting 99

This unusual structure was found at Marchwood, Hampshire, and is thought to be connected to a nearby sailing club. It has a viewing platform and a mast. Marchwood itself is a small town on the River Test, facing across the river from the port of Southampton, and many interesting views were seen of large container ships in dock.
This marine architecture landscape view was done on the 17th May 2023 on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5", in oils.

Plein air painting 88

Converted from one of the old Victorian docks in Southampton (UK) is the development known as Ocean Village. It was started in the 1980s and continues to be developed. Pictured is a section of the Southampton Harbour Hotel & Spa, a 5 star hotel of recent construction. Its design, when seen from afar, looks like the stern of a luxurious ‘super-yacht’. 
Painted in late October 2022 one Saturday morning with fine light on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5" and completed in oils.

Plein air painting 112

Mayflower park is a public area situated very close to the port of Southampton, and is an ideal vantage point to see all types of shipping either in the docks or leaving. The park was created in the 1930s from spoil retrieved from the building works in connection to the massive rebuilding of the port at that time.
In this view we are looking from the park, across the River Test (where the main port is situated off right) and see Marchwood, a military port, on the opposite side. A boat can be seen with a crane performing maintenance on the floating jetty in connection to the International Yacht show due to be held there later.
Painted on the 17th August, in oils on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5".

Plein air painting 78

In drydock, resting out of water, was this nicely kept boat with glossy wood and paintwork. The location is Shamrock Quay, Northam, Southampton. The nearby river is the Itchen where a hint of water can be seen. Moving to the background the Itchen bridge can be seen on the right hand side and the recent development involving blocks of flats at Woolston can be seen on the left.
Painted early one October morning on mounting board, sized at 12" x 9.5", in oils.

Plein air painting 73

The river Itchen, in east Southampton is wide at this point, in the suburb of Northam, just before it joins Southampton Water itself in the main area of the docks at the city. Many small boats of various shapes and sizes can be seen here moored in the river. There are also a high number of marine based industries on either side of the river. This view is from Northam bridge with Bitterne in the background.
The boats were a challenge because over the period of time painting them, would be moving about.
Painted in late September 2022 on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5", in oils.

Plein air painting 56

Painted in August 2022 one early Sunday morning, the River Itchen is shown working upstream from the St Denys area in the suburbs of Southampton city, UK. Priory road would be running parallel at this point to the river over to the left and off the painting. The landing stages seen on the left have a variety of boats moored to them. In the distance can be seen the railway bridge that carries tracks from the city and towards Portsmouth.

This landscape painting is created on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5", using oils.

Plein air painting 51(b)

Painted on the same day as the previous post (a) is a view from exactly the same spot but turned to look across the river Hamble/ Southampton water. Here can be seen a ship docked near to the Fawley oil refinery on the edge of the New Forest, Hampshire. This painting was done in oils on a small (8" x 7") piece of mounting board.

Plein air painting 44

Shamrock Quay, a boat yard in Southampton is the location of this 'plein air' art done in late summer 2021. Piles of wood, used to stabilise boats when in dry dock and old oil barrels can be seen in the foreground. The river Itchen is seen to be very wide at this point, with Southampton (Hampshire) in the background. To the right hand side can be seen St Marys stadium. As one moves toward the left, various business that deal with building materials can be seen on the dockside.
Painted on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5",  using oils.

Plein air painting 38

Painted during one late August afternoon in 2021 this plein air artwork shows a view of Southampton Docks, as seen standing on Town Quay. Looking toward the river Test, a few miles beyond, we can see the 'Western Docks', built in the 1930s with some large cruse ships moored. The closest one is unknown, but is run by 'Royal Caribbean Cruises'. The second one with the red funnel is 'Queen Mary 2'. The third ship in the distance is a car transporter. The weathered and dilapidated wooden/ metal structure in front of the scene is the remains of the late Victorian Royal pier which closed after a troubled history in 1980, although there are plans to restore it.

The painting is done on a small piece of cardboard from the back of a sketch pad, sized at 11.5" x 8", and done in oils.

Plein air painting 34

Two old and dilapidated jetties are shown, leading out of Saxon wharf in to the river Itchen. It is to be found in the suburb of Southampton, a city in the county of Hampshire, UK. Across the rive can be found another suburb, known as Bitterne. Painted on a dull afternoon during August 2021, this plein air landscape art is done on shop cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5".

Plein air painting 29 

The river Itchen is shown in this painting, done during July 2021 during a very hot afternoon. It is in the up direction and would lead you to Winchester, about 12 miles away. The park that it is seen from is known as Bitterne Manor park, on the outskirts of the city of Southampton and is the site of an original roman settlement. The blue horizontal line on the right hand side is the railway bridge that goes across the river, partly hidden by many boats moored in a small marina and links Bitterne station with St Denys station, on the other side of the river. Painted on mounting board sized at 12" x 9.5".

 Plein air painting 25

Painted in oils during July 2021, a number of boats on steel and wooden jacks are seen at Shamrock Quay, Northam, a suburb of Southampton. The artwork was done during a 2 hour slot and measures 11" x 9.5". The support is cardboard, taken from a local supermarket and done on a hot Friday afternoon..

 Plein air painting 22

A large view from Shamrock Quay, Southampton on the banks of the River Itchen, Southampton. A number of boats can be seen going into the distance. The river is flowing in to Southampton Water and the city can be seen in the distance, with the tall building dominating the scene being found at the nearby 'Ocean Village'. This plein air oil painting was done during June 2021 and is sized at 11.5" x 9.5" inches. The support is mounting board, primed.

 Plein air painting 19

A boat moored at Shamrock Quay, Southampton on the River Itchen. In the distance can be seen the Itchen Toll bridge, opened in 1977. Painted in June 2021 during one afternoon, in oils on mounting board, sized at 11.5" x 9.5".

 Plein air painting 14

This plein air oil sketch shows a mundane view of a couple of lifebuoy rings, one much larger than the other, on a mooring post. The location is a boat yard on the banks of the River Itchen, in Southampton, Hampshire. When the painting was started the weather was sunny but later started to rain so it had to be abandoned. I made a note of the time it was done and the sunny weather and came back a week or two later when the weather was the same, and at the same time so as to complete the sketch. It is painted on a piece of primed mounting board during September 2020.

The setting on the River Itchen

 

 

 Hampshire sunset with boats - WIP stages

WIP of sunset marine scene set in Hampshire

This painting shows a marine scene in the city of Southampton, UK. The area is populated with old boat wrecks, some sunk and some still floating but taken over by people living on them.

The first panel shows the scene drawn with acrylic brown paint on a lighter brown wash. White paint is used to indicate some lighter areas in tone, for instance the sky. Moving on to the second panel, colour has been added using diluted oil paint, applied thinly to indicate areas of colour. Detail is not worked on at this stage as this is an underpainting layer, due to be painted over.. After a week the paint is dry so more paint is added on top. This time the paint is a lot thicker, with virtually no thinners mixed in, and the colour is a truer version of the final required vibrancy and tone. Also the brushwork is a lot finer and detail is added at this stage. Lastly the final panel shows the completed painting. This last stage also included a layer of glazing on top, which is like a thin amount of paint suspended in a lot of transparent oil medium, used to emphasize colour. It is similar to placing tinted glass or a coloured photographic filter on top of the artwork.

The painting was done during late summer 2020 and sized at 16” x 20”, and can be seen in greater detail on this link.

 

 Working on closeup 82

A small snippet of a marine based oil painting...